Tag: Haunted House

DEADSTREAM – Review

Joseph Winter as Shawn Ruddy in DEADSTREAM. Photo Credit: Shudder.

DEADSTREAM is a little comedy horror flick that looks as if it were made on the cheap (which it probably was) but which turns its limited budget into an asset. Joseph Winter wrote and directed with wife, Vanessa Winter, and stars as an internet celeb named Shawn Ruddy who’s made a living by putting himself in danger. In each episode, he faces one of his fears for fun and profit. Apparently, that kept food on the table until he went too far in one adventure and lost his sponsors in disgrace. For his comeback after a six-month exile, he chooses to live-stream his night alone in a reputedly haunted house. That makes up the entire movie.

On the plus side, Winter makes this more visually interesting than most of the hand-held camera productions flooding screens ever since THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT, by using multiple cameras. He’s got a POV on his head, plus a selfie stick so we can alternate between what he sees and his reactions. He’s also planted cameras around the house’s reported hot spots (alleged previous deaths and spectral sightings) which he and we can follow on his tablet. We can also read his audience’s comments as they scroll, and even watch some of them talking to him.

As expected, spooky and gory things occur. A couple of people turn up who may, or may not, prove helpful. Winter’s character scares easily, and overreacts to the slightest sound and movement. A lot. Your enjoyment of the film will turn on whether he holds your empathy, or just becomes annoying. There’s nothing subtle or low-key in Winter’s performance. He’s wired electronically and emotionally throughout, which befits his character in the situation, but might prove as exhausting to follow as it was for him to film.

Be prepared for more blood, guts and jump starts than giggles as the protagonist’s long night of terror unfolds. It’s not rated by the MPAA as of this writing, but serves up enough frights and icky sights for an R. In his acting hat, Winters shoulders a big burden, since he’s almost always in frame, and delivers most of the lines in the spouses’ script. There are elements of humor and some social satire in the feedback from his fans’ and detractors’ reactions to what they’re witnessing in real time. The F/X part of the budget was spent wisely, providing plenty of scary and yucky bits of bang for the buck.

It ain’t great cinema but that was certainly not the goal. Enjoy this piece of escapism on its own terms. The Winters are early in their careers, and seem clever and resourceful enough to attract investors and keep their production wheels turning.

DEADSTREAM is available for streaming on Shudder starting Thursday, Oct. 6.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars

THINGS HEARD & SEEN – Review

With Spring in full bloom through most of the country, many cooped-up urbanites are longing for a sweet getaway, perhaps at a quaint old cottage. Even a century-old farmhouse would do for a nice rest. Ah, but what if someone was already there and refusing to rest. Or stay in the “underworld”? Oh yes, it’s haunted house time at the movies (or at least the number one movie streaming service). No, it’s not another mission for those 1970s paranormal “PIs”, the Warrens, though they’ll be back soon in another entry in the ever-expanding CONJURING series (what, they’ve got like four spin-offs, already). No, this time it’s pure fiction (yes, those other flicks are hotly debated certainly), and it springs ahead into the start of the next decade. Otherwise, it’s a new take on yet another attractive young family as they begin to unravel due to those unexplained, late at night (usually) THINGS HEARD & SEEN.

And those “things” are in full swing as the film begins in the winter of 1980. A young “thirtysomething” man encounters them as he pulls his car into the garage of his somewhat desolate farmhouse home. The story takes a fast rewind to the previous Spring in an NYC apartment where he, artist/historian George Claire (James Norton), and art-restorer wife Catherine (Amanda Seyfried) are hosting a fourth birthday party for their adorable daughter Franny (Ana Sophis Heger). But actually, it’s an excuse for them to drink with their city friends and family, and to announce that George has accepted a teaching internship at upstate Saginaw College. All a cause for celebration, but Amanda’s eating disorder hints at cracks in the happy union. But soon the relocation plans begin as an anxious local real estate agent in Chosen, NY, Mare (Karen Allen) takes the Claires to a 100-year-old four-bedroom former dairy farm known as the Snit (later Vayle) house. It’s a “fixer-upper”, but Catherine’s ready for the challenge as Michael meets with the head of the school’s art department, Floyd DeBeers (F. Murray Abraham). One morning Catherine is surprised when two local young men knock on the door and inquire about work. She hires them with post highschooler Eddie (Alex Neustaedter) as “fix-it man” and his pre-teen brother Cole (Jack Gore0 as a babysitter for Frannie. But something’s just “off”. The lights flicker at night, while intense gasoline exhaust smells waft through the home. Cate’s discovery of an old family Bible raises many questions, while George becomes distracted by a wispy young woman working at a nearby stable, Willis (Natalia Dyer). As Floyd helps to set up a seance (unknown to George) with Cate, the college weaving teacher Justine (Rhea Seehorn) becomes friends with Cate as she begins to question George’s motives and his past. Will these otherworld forces at the new home add to the tensions in the increasingly shaky marriage? And are these “entities” trying to help or harm Catherine?

With those intense expressive eyes, it seems that Seyfried was custom-made to headline ‘spook shows ‘ of this nature. Certainly, but she also carries the emotional weight of the story’s dramatic arc. Although she adores her child, Catherine tries to clamp down on her depressive thoughts and uncertainties, which rises to the surface with that early episode of closeted bulimia. Sure, Seyfried shows us a woman facing the unknown, the same forces that somehow liberate the repressed artist. Curiosity triumphs over terror as Catherine becomes a hidden sleuth, giving her the strength to stand up to the smothering arrogant George. Norton nails his villainous spouse role using his charming smile to get himself out of sticky situations while seducing every easily swayed young woman (the female students swoon at his lectures as though he was a certain Dr. Jones). His smugness and privilege mask his inner evil. Ah, but a few see thru his slick veneer, especially Dyer as the too wise for her years Willis. She knows what George is after, yet can’t stop herself from giving in, as Dyler’s sad dark eyes explain it all to us. Also seeing past the hair and gleaming teeth is Seehorn’s Justine who chooses not to be moved by his B.S. and becomes the crusader that will end his career climb and also rescue Cate from his vise-like grip. She’s “running the show” while the terrific James Urbanik scores a few needed laughs as her pot-growing failed-writer house-hubby. Neustaedter raises the temps as the smoldering long-haired teen dream right from the cover of a romance paperback (complete with Fabio-style hair). Oscar-winner Abraham brings the proper gravitas to his department boss role, while also becoming a kindly mentor/father-figure to the confused Catherine. And kudos to casting two 1980s screen icons as the non-college town couple. Allen, as the sympathetic realtor, and Michael O’Keefe (CADDYSHACK) as her stoic sheriff/ husband.

Venturing into the supernatural for the first time, directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini (AMERICAN SPLENDOR) create a subtle, simmering atmosphere of dread, making this tale closer to classics like THE UNINVITED and the original THE HAUNTING rather than the current CGI-enhanced “found footage” flicks and more effects-heavy franchises. Yes, there are a few “jump scares”, but there’s little reliance on the jarring sound mix tricks that have almost become cliche. Thanks to their screenplay adaptation of Elizabeth Brundage’s novel, the unraveling of the Claire marriage has as much importance as the disembodied voices and the hovering crows (with the time frame, you may recall ORDINARY PEOPLE). The frenetic third act has some unexpected turns, that lead to a final denouncement that offers little in the way of a dramatic “pay-off’ while creating lots of questions involving logic and character motivations. But, as I mentioned, that 80s atmosphere really works (praise to those artists in costumes, hairstyles, and set decoration), and Seyfried is a sublime horror heroine. With her as our guide, it’s an engaging tour through THINGS HEARD AND SEEN.

3 Out of 4

THINGS HEARD & SEEN streams exclusively on Netflix beginning on Thursday, April 29, 2021.

WE ARE STILL HERE – The Review

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Some of the best and surprising films, not just in horror but all genres, are the ones that sneak up on you and catch you off guard. To be more specific, small films that seemingly come out of nowhere, without warning, and despite their having an otherwise mild-mannered appearance, turn out to have quite a surprising impact.

Written and directed by Ted Geoghagan, WE ARE STILL HERE is one of these little modestly made films that speak quietly but carry a big stick. WASH, as I will refer to it from here on out, is a superbly made film that does not strike you as such upon the first viewing. Instead, its a film that nags at you and eats away at your mind after the viewing has ended. For myself, I came away from my initial viewing thinking only mediocre thoughts of its content, but as I soon realized, I had been infected by the film’s mind-boring parasite that stuck with me and couldn’t let me go, allowing me to realize the subtle genius of the film.

Ted Geoghogan has embraced and brought into his film the very essence of the creepy, low-profile 80s horror flick. WASH is a contemporary film that deserves the recent trend toward nostalgic throwbacks. WASH needs a limited edition big box VHS release. That’s the overall reaction I had to this movie, being one of those rare gems that I stumbled upon in the back of the horror section on the top dusty shelf, nearly out of reach at the local mom and pop video rental shop. For some of you, this translates to a remarkably high appraisal of the film, and you devoted few understand what that means.

WASH tells the story of a middle-aged couple, Paul and Anne Sacchetti, who move to a remote house in the woods of New England after their teenage son has died in an automobile accident. Its winter and the overall tone of the film is cold, from the weather to the emotions and even the lighting and color palette chosen to illustrate the film visual tone. Paul and Anne are grieving, and in their misery fail to notice some strange behavior amidst them in the small town, which gives the small town charm and hospitality cliche an eerie twist when they realize that the house is not as cozy as they’d hoped.

Anne, played by veteran genre actress Barbara Crampton, is the first of the couple to notice the strange sounds and occurrences. She is the first to catch glimpses of figures, shadowing entities and flickering ghostly visions of horrifying things. At first fearing the grief is proving too much, Paul (played by Andrew Sensenig) too becomes aware that they are not alone and the house is home to something far removed from the pleasant welcoming of the locals. The difference in the couples’ interpretation is what initially sets this slow-burn ghost story in motion. Anne believes the apparition is her son, trying desperately to reach out and speak to his parents. Paul, on the other hand, being a more rationale man, doesn’t buy it and fears they are in danger.

Encouraged by the town folk to stay, and not wanting to upset his wife more than necessary, Paul allows the belief to preside for a while, but its the secrets house within the town that are as dangerous as the presence that calls the Sacchetti’s house home. WASH brings into being a common theme of H.P. Lovecraft’s works around a town’s collective involvement with strange occurrences. Geoghogan does this in a more digestible form than Lovecraft’s oft-dated settings, but the heart of it remains the same. We saw a similar trend in the 80s, one of the more recognizable being Stephen King’s CHILDREN OF THE CORN (1984) where a community comes together for a common good, which is really quite evil.

While we’re revisiting the 80s, I should point out another impressive element of WASH being the special effects makeup. The portrayal of the badly burned, nearly unrecognizable spirits is fantastic. The mix of traditional makeup effects and subtle digital enhancements give these entities chill-inducing realism, both in the quality and in the execution, that makes them appear as though they are forever smoldering in agonizing pain. Just the thought of it makes one itch and that’s the point. The eyes of the entities also harken back to an earlier era of supernatural horror flicks, namely of the Italian persuasion. The filmmaker’s soft spot for these film also becomes apparent with a few Easter eggs nods to such Italian classics as THE BEYOND and THE HOUSE BY THE CEMETERY, both from 1981.

As I mentioned previously, your initial viewing may set you up for an extended fright. A great deal of this is due to the masterful cinematography from genre-regular Karim Hussain, whose credits as cinematographer include HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN, ANTIVIRAL and the TV Series HANNIBAL, none of which look the same, all of which look amazing. I can honestly say I am more creeped out by WE ARE STILL HERE now, as I write this review, than I was during or just after viewing the film. Perhaps that’s a testament to the film’s power, and credence in the film’s title as fair warning to its viewers.

WE ARE STILL HERE arrives in theaters and on VOD June 5th, 2015

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

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THE INNKEEPERS – Fantastic Fest Review

When I first saw writer and director Ti West’s HOUSE OF THE DEVIL, I wasn’t quite sure what to make of it at first, but after a second viewing, not only did I love it, I also learned something about the films of Ti West… there’s more than meets the eye upon your first viewing. The same can be said about Ti West’s new film THE INNKEEPERS, a smart, funny film with plenty of old school scares and a subtle twist to the haunted house genre.

Ti West has come to be known as one of the most important new filmmakers of the indie horror scene and THE INNKEEPERS is a great example of why that statement is as true as it bold. Unlike many contemporary horror filmmakers today, Ti West moves beyond the standard shock and awe strategy of gore and violence. In its place, West fills his films with a genuine atmosphere of reality-based creepiness, flavored with nostalgia and quality storytelling with tangible characters.

THE INNKEEPER is a tale about two employees, Claire and Luke, who are the lone employees during a historic hotel’s final weekend of business. Luke (Pat Healy) is an amateur “ghost hunter” determined to record proof that the hotel is haunted before it closes, while Claire (Sara Paxton) is there to help as they take turns taking shifts. Fortunately, the hotel has only two guests; a mother in a bad mood with her little girl, followed shortly after by a famous actress (played by Kelly McGillis) with whom Claire is infatuated.

In short, the story revolves as much around the awkwardly familiar relationship between Claire and Luke as it does the haunted mystery of the hotel’s ghostly past. THE INNKEEPERS weaves a charming story that unfolds with the precision of a Swiss army knife, revealing only what’s necessary for the audience to piece together on their own and nothing more, but it’s the perfect portioning for a scary tale that will appeal to a much wider audience than some of its more graphically intense counterparts.

Pat Healy seems to be channeling a little bit of Simon Pegg in his performance as the sarcastic slacker who’s too cool for his own geekiness. Sara Paxton, on the other hand, is unbearably cute as the slightly oblivious and nerdy Claire, fully absorbed within her own curiosity and very easily scared. The chemistry between these two characters give THE INNKEEPERS a lot of its most enjoyably playful moments, while Ti West builds the more frightening elements of the story one brick at a time until the surprisingly simple but brilliantly jaw dropping climax, which will have audiences talking on a level not experienced since opening weekend of THE SIXTH SENSE. On that note, I’ll watch THE INNKEEPERS over and over again before doing the same with Shyamalan’s blockbuster… THE INNKEEPERS has more staying power.

I hesitate in calling THE INNKEEPERS a family-friendly movie, as that tends to convey a level of disrespect for many seasoned fans of the horror genre, but the truth is… Ti West has masterfully crafted an intensely creepy, scary horror-thriller that can be seen and appreciated by audiences of virtually all ages, but does not bend at the knee to dumb down the story, delivering well crafted dialogue with humor and likable, real characters. One of my top 5 favorite films of Fantastic Fest 2011, I’d have to call this my #1 film to recommend from the fest. THE INNKEEPERS currently does not have a theatrical release date, but will become available through Video On Demand on December 30th, 2011. Its really a shame, because THE INNKEEPERS plays marvelously in a crowded theater.

LIVID – Fantastic Fest Review

Can I just say I really, really wanted to like LIVID. I mean, I truly looked forward to eating this movie up, but instead, I found myself staring at my plate wondering what I had just been served. This is the second feature film from the writing/directing team of Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury, whose first outing was 2007’s INSIDE. Bustillo and Maury appeared to have started with an interesting idea, but somewhere along the path of production lost their focus, perhaps distracted by their own visions, which make numerous cameos that feel more like party crashers than official invitees.

LIVID begins as a story about a teenager named Lucy (Chloe Coulloud) who is training as an in-house caregiver. She travels from house to house with her trainer Mrs. Wilson (Catherine Jacob). The last house of the day is a large mansion owned by Miss Jessel (Maria-Claude Pietragalla), a successful former dance instructor infamous for for strict methods. Miss Jessel is bed-ridden and in a coma, the soul resident of the massive, ornate estate in disrepair. Mrs. Wilson casually reveals stories to Lucie as they tend to Miss Jessel, such as her only child Anna having been born mute and passed on many years ago, and the mysterious “treasure” which is said to be hidden somewhere in the house.

This treasure is the driving factor for the first half of LIVID, which has Lucie reluctantly leading her two male friends, Ben and William (Jeremy Kapone and Felix Moati), into the Jessel estate in search of the alleged treasure. For what it’s worth, this first half of LIVID is the half that works reasonably well, an atmospherically Gothic but straight-forward haunted house tale. LIVID invites the audience in to share the adventure of three nosy teens, snooping around a creepy old house, certain to unleash something dreadful. Unfortunately, this is what they unleash… something visually stunning, but dreadful to watch.

LIVID’s opening sequence sets an alluring tone for something out of Dark Shadows, with gray skies and massive waves crashing against a treacherous rocky shore. Rolling green hills in the distance with an ominously slow orchestral score (Raphael Gesqua) drawing the viewer in like a Pied Piper written with the pending doom of Poe’s pen. Once Lucie and the boys enter the house, the focus appears to shift rapidly to something more akin to a cinematic roadside attraction of visual oddities. As they explore the various rooms of the Jessel house, they stumble upon everything from strange things preserved in jars, mounted animal heads, creepy dolls and a number of other typical genre props used in countless horror films.

To be fair, and to repeat my earlier point, this is all visually stunning stuff, if not a tad generic and certainly not crucial to the story in many cases. LIVID looks amazing, as does the score deem itself worthy of attention on it’s own merit. The issue I have with all this is that it serves little purpose to the story and, in some unclear fashion, becomes the story. Once the reality of the situation makes itself known to Lucie and the boys, the gore comes out to play and Miss Jessel exposes her true self. The nature of her “true self” and the twists involving her daughter are grounds for spoilers, but I can say the potential is there, but the execution is terribly flawed.

The first half of LIVID is a based in the real world, with the realm of fantasy taking a bold and often intrusive spotlight in the second half. I could not help but notice the second half of LIVID is heavily influenced by the works of Guillermo del Toro, from the visual style, creature and prop design and even the movement and performance of the non-human characters. Many of these scenes stand alone as really cool, artistically impressive achievements, but when they’re all spliced together into a narrative as they are, the film that began as a fresh ode to Halloween-inspired films (the holiday, not the franchise) unravels into a broken, disconnected mess of ideas that fails to come together as a fully comprehensible story.

Perhaps LIVID will make more sense with a second, third or multiple viewings. Maybe this is a film that needs a decade or two for fans to digest before it’s appreciated as a once misunderstood genre classic. It’s impossible to say for sure, but for the time being, LIVID struck me as a film with massive potential but paid out primarily in disappointment. See the film, even buy the score, then make your own decision… I’ll be the first to tell you my opinion appears to be amongst the minority of those attending Fantastic Fest 2011.